The Youl family and their Ultimate Xterra camper trailer

Mays Bend – Bourke

It was time for another outback adventure. This time, we were heading to the Flinders Ranges, in South Australia, travelling again with friends Trent and Leanne, and their boys Sean and Ryan. They were able to get an early start on Friday, while we couldn’t get away until 2pm. The plan for us was to head towards Bourke, and see how far we got.

Fortunately the traffic was lighter than expected heading west over the ranges, allowing us to get to Mudgee for a meal before continuing on. The traffic really cleared once we got past Dubbo and we made good time to Nyngan where we made the call to press on to Bourke. We have stayed at Mays Bend before, and knew that it would be easy to find a spot there late at night.

Quick overnight setup – love the grey river soil

The first 100km or so from Nyngan were pretty easy, with only the occasional ‘roo by the side of the road to keep an eye on. However, the closer we got to Bourke, the numbers of Kangaroo multiplied! There must have been hundreds that we passed – each one seemingly threatening to embark on a suicide mission at any moment. Fortunately there were no successful attempts on our watch, and we rolled into Mays Bend sometime after 11pm.

A restless night followed, with the kids both inside, excitement building for the proper start of our trip the following morning.